Scott Epps

Thought For Today

2010-03-10T08:41:00.001-06:00

" The devil tries to destroy our faith through our sin. He whispers, 'See, you are a failure. God could never love you. You have sinned your way out of His love. You promised you would never sin again, and you did. You let God down, and He is angry with You. It is best if you just run away.' The desire of the devil is to see us become estranged and alienated from God."
James Bryan Smith

Thought For Today

2010-02-10T08:41:00.001-06:00

"[A lady] related that she didn't want to force or impose her views and beliefs on her kids. Where do people get this notion? I don't know who or what gets this idea into people's minds, other than some people who want nothing less than a society which has no morals, standards, or faith in anything other than 'Mother Earth!' What a sad position to hold onto...We definitely need to train up our kids." - Mark Peters in his book "Which Way is Up? (From Amongst All This Chaos!)"

Famous Quotes

2010-02-01T10:28:00.000-06:00

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.~ Booker T. Washington

Thought For Today

2010-02-01T08:11:00.000-06:00

People are waiting to see what we will do with our lives. If God could use a shepherd boy to witness to a king, and ex-convict to witness to prisoners, parents, and teens, surely He can use you. There is no limit to what He can do with an individual who is faithful and follows Him, wherever He may lead.

Are You Running From God?

2009-11-18T15:22:00.001-06:00

'The word... came to Jonah the second time.' - Jnh 3:1 NKJV

Jonah did some serious praying in the whale's belly; he repented of his prejudice and learned to love people he despised. It was there he became willing to preach things people don't like to hear. And you'll notice something else. God didn't intervene until he repented. Most of us want God to move before we've moved. No, Jonah acted, then God responded; He commanded the fish and it vomited Jonah up onto dry land, whereupon the runaway prophet asked for directions to Ninevah. Sometimes because of our rebellious spirit we don't get it right until the next marriage. Sometimes because of our rebellious spirit we don't get it right until we're fifty. Sometimes because of our rebellious spirit we don't overcome our addiction until later, although we could have overcome it sooner. Like Jonah we have to go to the bottom. But whatever it takes, God will do it. You can go to Ninevah yourself, or God can take you there. But it's easier to obey the first time. Jonah's story proves that the Lord is a God of second chances. 'The word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time.' Good news: Even though you've run from God, made 'shipwreck' of your life and feel like you're drowning, God will redeem and restore you if you'll turn to Him. He will give you a second chance in your marriage, your ministry or your vocation. But there's one condition - God is not going to change His mind to accommodate what you want, so you need to change your mind and attitude and do what He says, okay?

Jentezen Franklin - Daily Devotionals

Thought For Today

2009-08-29T05:13:00.000-05:00

Money will buy a bed but not sleep; books but not brains; food but not appetite; finery but not beauty; a house but not a home; medicine but not health; luxuries but not culture; amusements but not happiness; religion but not salvation--a passport to everywhere but heaven

Exodus 34:12-16

2009-07-07T08:57:00.001-05:00

God describes idolatry as harlotry, playing around with someone else's spouse. It is a case of divided loyalties. God becomes angry, jealous, when this happens spiritually. In fact, in Deuteronomy 4:24, His anger becomes so hot that He describes Himself as being a consuming fire. Fire symbolizes God's radiant glory as an aspect of His holiness.
Jealousy and zeal are opposite sides of the same coin; both of them are driven by passion. One is positive, the other negative. One is for, one is against. Zeal is passionately for something or somebody, while jealousy is passionately against something or somebody. Similarly, fire is hot, and it is both positive and negative. It symbolizes both refining and purifying, on the one hand, and death and destruction on the other.
The pattern is in the way God depicts His feelings toward us. As a consuming fire, He will either purify or destroy with His passion. He is either for something with a great deal of ardor, or He is against something with a great deal of fury. He is for those who are with Him, and He is loyal to the nth degree to them. But He is against sin and disloyalty with just as much heat as He is for those who love Him and diligently seek Him. His attitude is not cool in any way, shape, or form, but hot. He wants us to respond in like manner.
In what way, are we seeking God? Diligently? Earnestly? Sincerely? With warmth, ardor, and affection? Is our seeking the ardent pursuit of one in love—one who wants to be around this personality and really desires to know Him because we are, after all, going to marry Him and spend all eternity with Him? Or is it a kind of a take-it-or-leave-it, distant, academic coolness because we do not want to make a fool of ourselves or offend others with our zeal? Think about it.

John W. Ritenbaugh - The Berean

Isaiah 14:12-15

2009-05-07T20:29:00.002-05:00

It becomes clear, once we fit this together with II Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6; Revelation 12:3-4 ,9; and Ezekiel 28:12-14, that God assigned the angels to the earth under their commander, Lucifer, who was the sum total of all that God could create by fiat in a created being, perfect in his ways until iniquity was found in him. We see a picture of a being of awesome beauty and power, of tremendous intelligence, and like us, a creature of free moral agency.
Something happened to that great being, and he began a campaign of deceit. He began to separate from God a number of the angels, undoubtedly using the reasoning that they should have more, that God should treat them better, that God was being unfair, that they did not have the liberty or the power that was due them. At some point he began to express, "I will be like the Most High."

Some commentators say that the Hebrew says in reality, "I will be God," not just like God. We can see what he wanted: complete power, authority, and control. He did not want to be under another; he did not want to be submissive. He did not want another being pulling his strings or controlling him.

He wanted to sit, as it says, on the mount of the congregation. So he decided, "I will make war. I will ascend into heaven." So the demons left their first estate, the realm of their authority, and they mounted up in war and attacked God. They were soundly defeated and cast down. Their first domain became a place of restraint, literally "a silo," a pit, where they were chained. This suggests that, as a result of their rebellion, they no longer have the liberty that they once had, but are now held in restraint. A great deal of their free moral agency was taken from them.

John W. Ritenbaugh

Influence

2009-04-24T07:11:00.000-05:00

"There is no power on earth that can neutralize the influence of a high, simple, and useful life."
~ Booker T. Washington

"He is greatest whose strength carries up the most hearts by the attraction of his own."
~ Henry Ward Beecher

"Into the hands of every individual is given a marvelous power for good or evil - the silent, unconscious, unseen influence of his life. This is simply the constant radiation of what man really is, not what he pretends to be."
~ William George Jordan

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
~ Margaret Mead

Dreams

2009-04-14T07:46:00.000-05:00

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of the potential, for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints, possibility never."
~ SÃ¸ren Kierkegaard

"Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe."
~ Gail Devers

"I have learned, that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."
~ Henry David Thoreau

Inspiring People

2009-04-03T08:49:00.000-05:00

"Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Leaders establish the vision for the future and set the strategy for getting there; they cause change. They motivate and inspire others to go in the right direction and they, along with everyone else, sacrifice to get there."
~ John Kotter

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."
~ John Quincy Adams

"Motivation is everything. You can do the work of two people, but you can't be two people. Instead, you have to inspire the next guy down the line and get him to inspire his people."
~ Lee Iacocca

The Resurrection

2009-04-02T17:39:00.001-05:00

During Jesus’ ministry, the disciples were amazed at the Savior’s spiritual truths and miraculous power. Witnessing the power of His ministry first-hand, they finally realized that He was indeed the Son of God. With the Lord’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, the disciples were secure and excited about the future.
Yet days later, as the soldiers raised Jesus’ nailed and beaten body on the cross, the disciples’ elation turned to fear. Most of them were hiding, frightened they might suffer the same fate.
Are you like the disciples? Do you “hide” when you face difficulties? Are you afraid something terrible is going to happen? Please know that God has a loving plan for all of us. Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection were part of God’s perfect plan.
Because of Jesus’ sacrificial atonement for our sins, we can be confident that we are forgiven. Jesus’ sacrifice made it possible for every believer to have an intimate relationship with God, the Father. In addition, at His resurrection, Jesus proclaimed His power over sin and death. Jesus is alive, and we, as followers of Christ, now have eternal life.
Just as the disciples realized that God had a greater plan than they could have foreseen, we need to realize that we can trust God to take care of any circumstance we might face. Don’t be afraid. The resurrection means power and hope!

Who is the painter?

2009-04-02T13:16:00.000-05:00

When you see a painting, it is reasonable to assume that a painter painted it. Is it reasonable to assume that his name is Alan Jeffrey Pinkerton? How would you go about validating your claim? Would it be enough for you if someone just told you his name was Alan Jeffrey Pinkerton? What if somebody else told you that Alan Jeffrey Pinkerton never existed and it was really painted by Cecil P. Fitzwilliam? Imagine that it is your job to find out who really painted it. How would you begin your investigation? You see, creation = creator is all well and good... but how do I establish who that creator was?" CodewordConduitIn other words, it is obvious that there is a God, but what is His identity? Moses asked the same question on Mount Sinai.The One who created the universe must be supernatural. With all our "genius," humanity can't create one grain of sand, a leaf, a flower or a bird, from nothing. The Creator must have powers that are infinitely greater than the greatest human being. The claim of the gospel is that this Creator will reveal Himself to all who repent and trust Jesus Christ. This isn't a reference to a change of belief, or a change of religious philosophy. It's the supernatural experience of being born again.

"To Dress & To Keep"

2009-03-31T20:22:00.000-05:00

Genesis 2:15
" Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it."

The Garden of Eden was the environment that God created for a relationship with Him to take place. Adam and Eve's responsibility was to dress and keep it. They were put there, not to do nothing, not just to pluck fruit off a tree, not even merely to receive eternal life, but to take care of the Garden.
Dress means "to embellish." This may seem a little strange, but Adam and Eve were to take care of it so well that it would become better than it was when God gave it to them. We like to think of the Garden as being a place of absolute and perfect beauty. Instead, since God told them to "dress and keep it," it seems that it was not complete. It had only been started. What He had done was certainly beautiful, but He wanted them to carry on and finish it.
Keep means "to guard" or "to preserve." If they did not work to dress the Garden, God is telling them, it would deteriorate. That is the way of all things physical, they degenerate if they are not maintained and taken care of.
There are spiritual lessons here. We have been invited into a relationship with God. Like any relationship, it must be worked on to make it increasingly tighter and more productive. We are to "dress and to keep" the relationship. We are not in the Garden, certainly, but we are in the relationship. To do this, we must use and grow in the Holy Spirit. The relationship is the key to accomplishing this. If there is no relationship, there is no Holy Spirit working in and with us, no chance that we will ever grow in the Spirit, and no way we can be close to God. The relationship is the key.
John W. Ritenbaugh

Obligation

2009-03-30T09:26:00.000-05:00

Romans 13:8-10
(8) Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. (9) For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (10) Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Paul presents us with an interesting paradox. On the one hand, he says that we should owe no man anything that he can rightfully claim from us. But on the other hand, we must owe everyone more than we can hope to pay, that is, perfect love.
He extends and intensifies the concept of obligation. We must be more scrupulous within the limits of the common idea of indebtedness, and also infinitely widen the range within which it operates. Did not our failure to meet our obligations to God and man accrue for us an unpayable debt? Now that the debt has been paid, we are obliged not only to strive to avoid further indebtedness, but also to expand and perfect the giving of love.
This paradox is more apparent than real, because love is not an added duty but the inclusive framework within which all duties should be done. Love is the motivating power that frees and enables us to serve and sacrifice with largeness of heart and generosity of spirit.
If we view love as just the keeping of God's laws, we are stuck on a low-level, letter-of-the-law approach to righteousness. Do not misunderstand, keeping God's law is a necessary aspect of love, but love is far more complex. Commandment keeping is compulsory and can be done in an "only because" attitude, one that concludes, "I must love the person, but I don't have to like him." Drawing upon Christ's teaching, Paul gives an entirely new significance to the idea of obligation.
John W. Ritenbaugh

Four Tips For Travelling The High Road by "John Maxwell"

2009-03-29T00:14:00.000-05:00

1) It's Not What Happens to You, but in You That Really Matters

2) High Roaders See Their Own Need for Grace, Therefore They Extend It to Others

3) High Roaders Are Not Victims; They Choose to Serve Others

4) High Roaders Set Higher Standards for Themselves Than Others Would

Funny Story by " John Maxwell "

2009-03-27T13:28:00.001-05:00

John tells this story in his book "Today Matters" on Page 108. A man was researching his family tree and came to find out that his family was not the greatest. In fact it was really bad, so the man hired a professional biograpgher to write up a document on the family's black sheep. It reads as follows, "Uncle George had been executed in the electric chair for murder. No problem said the biograpgher. I'll say that Uncle George occupied a chair of applied electronics at an inportant government institution. He was attached to his position by the strongest of ties, and his death came as a real shock."

Networking "Leadership Quotes"

2009-03-25T09:24:00.000-05:00

"The currency of real networking is not greed but generosity."
~ Keith Ferrazzi

"Always recognize that human beings are ends, and do not use them as means to your ends."
~ Immanuel Kant

"Your network determines your net worth."
~ Anonymous

Deep Wisdom From A Teenager "ECT"

2009-03-24T19:44:00.000-05:00

" Ungratefulness can be traced to a failure to find benifits in everything we expierence, and an unwillingness to trust God to fulfill our deepest needs." Author Unknown

Inspiration

2009-03-23T17:08:00.000-05:00

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." ~ John Quincy Adams

"Leadership is based on a spiritual quality; the power to inspire, the power to inspire others to follow." ~ Vince Lombardi

"Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

A Realistic View Of Life!

2009-03-21T20:21:00.000-05:00

2 Timothy 4:6-8
Our culture desperately tries to postpone death. Vitamins, exercise, and wise diets are ways we try to live as long as possible.
Not that these things are bad! Our motive, however, is key. For instance, knowing that our bodies are God's temple (1 Cor. 3:16), we should take care of His dwelling. And since He has good works for us to do (Eph. 2:10), we should stay fit to complete His tasks.
On the other hand, prolonging life for fear of dying isn't of God. Because Jesus died in our place, those who have faith in Him as Lord and Savior need not fear death. Once saved, we have assurance of a real place where we will live eternally in His presence. The Bible teaches that fear isn't from God (2 Tim. 1:7). In fact, the apostle Paul assures us that, far from being a dreadful change, physical death actually leads believers home to be with the Lord forever (2 Cor. 5:8).
God already knows the duration of each person's life. With this in mind, how can we best prepare for what's next? The first step is to receive Jesus as Savior through faith. Next, we should live a surrendered life and strive to walk according to His will. Furthermore, it is vital that believers fight the tendency to view this world as "home." If we become too comfortable here, finding our security and worth in earthly success, we won't be able to maintain an eternal perspective.
It is an inescapable fact that life on earth is temporary. It would be foolish not to prepare for something inevitable. How can you best live so that you are ready when God decides it is time?

Rainy Day's

2008-10-08T09:18:00.000-05:00

Well this morning it was very hard to wake because of the sound of rain and darkened room. All is well though, I eventually rose and got my morning shower "which always helps". These are the kind of days I love to just sit, read and study. It's wonderful see how God designed us and how He knows when we need some time to slow down and reflect on His Word and His goodness. Well time to get to studying.

Dead Chicken For Sale

2008-09-20T21:30:00.000-05:00

Well I'm a little nerveous about tommorrow's fundraiser. This will be our first chicken dinner and well I'm always nerveous about those for some reason. I guess I just want them to be successful for the kids sake. Hey, but doesnt everybody love a dead chicken or is that just us baptist?

" AWAY GAMES "

2008-09-18T21:07:00.000-05:00

Hey guy's just a note to say thanks for your prayers for our services on wed nights! We had a great service last night and I really felt like God was moving in the hearts of some of our students. I know that we are not given the gift of seeing the condition of peoples hearts but I believe what I witnessed on their faces was the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Many students usually come to the alter each week but I did feel that the ones under the most conviction did not move at from their seats. You are probably asking how then can I call wed night a success? Well, I know that the Holy Spirit convicts the heart and if a person can still be under conviction they are still able to make a right decision.

Spiders Tie Up With The Mountian Lions

2008-09-13T22:03:00.000-05:00

Oh well! I guess I over estimated the bite of the spiders. We did however tie the game up with a total of 5 to 5. Considering the heat our kids did a great job today! Go Spider Pigs, I mean Silver Spiders.

Silver Spiders Are Ready To Bite

2008-09-13T08:31:00.000-05:00

Excitement builds this morning as my son's 1st soccor game of the new school year. We are known as the "silver spiders" and hopefully will scare the daylight out of the opposing team. Yes the teams name was inspired by the players, but I have to say that the silver spiders was much better than their 1st option "the spider pigs".

The Wild "Eppsberries"

2008-09-12T20:32:00.000-05:00

Well it's another exciting Friday night in the lives of the wild eppsberries not to be confused with the hit cartoon "thornberries" show of days gone by. That is also a sign of an exciting life, that you know the cartoon favorites of all of your kids. As I write to you, there is absolutely noting to watch on all 215 channels of my TV and I find myself entertained by the nickelodeon movie "Gym Teacher".

That Ain't Right

2008-08-11T15:54:00.001-05:00

Today I began something very exciting but scary. I have never tried this sort of thing but it seems to be a kinda cool thing to try so stick with me for a few days and try not to laugh at my inability to speak engish.